


I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for...N2?

by HiddenTreasures



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Fluff, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-13
Updated: 2017-07-13
Packaged: 2018-12-01 13:16:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11487168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HiddenTreasures/pseuds/HiddenTreasures
Summary: Rose helps James make ice cream for visiting school children. The secret ingredient? Liquid nitrogen!





	I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for...N2?

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for the @doctorroseprompts “making ice cream (with liquid nitrogen)” prompt.

“Are you sure about this?”

James tried not to be offended at the uncertainty in Rose’s voice.

“Of course I’m sure!” he squawked. “Been doing this every year for the kids.”

He turned back around to the group of children sitting on the gymnasium floor, having visited the university for Earth Day. Every year, the university would host local primary schools and hold a day of science-filled fun. The kids would travel in small groups through the gymnasium to listen to various environment related talks the uni students put on, and to do safe little experiments to have fun with science.

James’s station was the snack station, and the primary snack was ice cream that would be made with liquid nitrogen.

“All right, kids, gather round!” James exclaimed to the students. “Er, not too closely, though. If you could all stay behind the red line, that would be great. And get those safety glasses on!”

James made sure all of the kids had their glasses on, and then he donned his own. In the three years that he had been working the station, he had never once come close to having an accident, but better safe than sorry.

“Now, my lovely friend Rose here—” James gestured to his best friend Rose, who had offered to help out for the day when his usual Earth Day partner, Donna, had plans for the afternoon. “—has a great big bowl filled with milk, cream, and sugar. And we’ve added little biscuit crumbs for fun. And now, to make the ice cream! Our secret ingredient is liquid nitrogen. Nitrogen is a gas normally, but if we get it really, really cold—about negative 195 degrees—it becomes a liquid. And that’s what we’ll be using today to freeze the ice cream.”

James slipped his hands into the thick cryo gloves, and he handed a pair to Rose as well. He then lifted up the insulated canister that contained the liquid nitrogen, and he grinned at the “oohs” and “ahhs” from the kids when he took the lid off and fog arose from the can.

He stepped up to the bowl and poured in a bit of the liquid nitrogen, creating an even bigger mass of fog as the liquid nitrogen hit the creamy mixture.

“Stir it up, please, Rose,” James said, setting the liquid nitrogen aside. He waved his hand in front of the mixing bowl to clear the fog so he could see if he needed to add more nitrogen. But it looked perfect just as it was, and as Rose kept stirring, the frozen bits of ice cream melted with the liquid bits, until there was a uniform, creamy mixture in the bowl.

“And done!” James crowed. “Come up and have a look!”

The kids dashed forward to see the ice cream, as well as to get a sample.

As the kids grabbed their ice cream and wandered to the next station, James made a small cup of ice cream for him and Rose to share.

“Cool, innit?” he asked, bumping his hip against hers.

“Absolutely frigid,” Rose said dryly, winking at him. “Are you sure this is safe to eat?”

“Nah, I figured I’d poison the little buggers under the guise of ice cream,” he dead-panned. Then he shoveled a large spoon of ice cream into his mouth. “Of course I’m sure. Give it a try, Rose.”

Rose looked at him dubiously, and accepted the spoon from him. She loaded it with a small scoop of ice cream, and tasted it. It tasted better than she was expecting.

“Not bad,” she allowed, handing the spoon back to him. “I think I still prefer ice cream from the little shop around the corner.”

James shrugged and quickly finished off the ice cream.

“Thanks for helping out today, Rose,” he said as he glanced around at the full gymnasium. “I could’ve manned the station alone, but it’s no fun if I do it myself.”

“You’re welcome,” she answered, wrapping her arm around his waist in a sideways hug. “You owe me proper ice cream for this though.”

“As my love wishes,” he murmured. He reached up and cradled her jaw in the hand not wrapped around her waist, and he tilted her head up for a quick kiss. He shivered when her warm lips and tongue caressed his cold mouth, and he pulled back before he turned their chaste kiss into a snog in front of a group of one hundred schoolchildren.

“Right, we’ve got a new group headed our way,” Rose said, pecking a quick kiss to his cheek before she grabbed a new bowl of the liquid ice cream mixture. “Time to do science!”

“Get your goggles on,” James said, slipping his on. “Good laboratory safety.”

“Oh, yeah, because it’s totally safe to be eating ice cream made with a chemical,” she drawled.

“All of your food is made with chemicals,” James argued. “Every last one. The entire universe is one great big chemical reaction going on around us. Besides, nitrogen is harmless. It’s the major component in the air we breathe. We’re fine.”

Rose giggled at her daft boyfriend. God, he was sexy when he went off on a mini lecture.

“All right then, Doctor,” she said with a tongue-touched smirk. “Go on and teach the kiddos everything they ever wanted to know about the science of ice cream.”


End file.
